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Cuts could impact Bartlesville

Proposed cuts to film industry incentives included in Senate Bill 1623 will drive movie projects to other states, Julie Daniels, a member of the Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Commission, said Wednesday at the Bartlesville Downtown Kiwanis Club.

“These (incentives) have been targeted for elimination by the legislature, who are looking at tax credits and incentives this year,” Daniels said.

The bill would reduce the rebate program to 17.5 percent. Authored by Sen. Mike Mazzei, R-Tulsa, the bill would eliminate 45 tax credits and would reduce state income tax from 5.25 percent to 4.75 percent.

Though the Office of Film and Music only has $513,000 of the Department of Tourism and Recreation’s $62.3 million budget, it has brought in film projects which have had an economic impact of $35 million, Daniels said.

A film project could earn up to 37 percent of the money spent in Oklahoma back in a rebate, Daniels said. Currently, the rebates are capped at $5 million statewide per year.

“Once you have allocated the $5 million, you have to turn others away,” Daniels said. “That has been an issue because Oklahoma has become quite an attractive place because of the rebate program to film. …The return to our economy is 3-to-1.”

The movie “Thunderstruck,” with Kevin Durant, was filmed in Louisiana instead of Oklahoma due to the rebate already being maxed out, Daniels said. The crew filmed three days’ worth of background shots in Oklahoma City, but the majority of the story was filmed elsewhere.

The film “August: Osage County” — based on a Pulitzer prize-winning play by Tracy Letts — absorbed the entire $5 million rebate for the current budget year, Daniels said. The movie will star Julia Roberts and Meryl Streep, according to recent news reports.

Bartlesville recently saw a direct impact from the film industry when an untitled Terrence Malick project was shot from September to November 2010 and March 2011. The romantic drama filmed in Bartlesville stars Ben Affleck and Rachel McAdams and has yet to be released.

According to a study released by the Motion Picture Alliance of America, 4,691 jobs were created in Oklahoma by the film industry, Gus said.

The production crew not only spent money on dining and lodging, but they also rented facilities, constructed sets and even mailed numerous large packages, all of which brought revenue to Bartlesville, Gus said Wednesday.

Bartlesville has been scouted for other movies, Gus said.

“Because of how great the community was in supporting it, it makes us much more likely to have another,” Gus said.

The benefits of having a movie made in a town can last for years, Gus said. Around 50,000 people a year visit the field in Iowa where the classic baseball movie “Field of Dreams” was filmed.

“Mr. Malick utilized Bartlesville as a backdrop for a reason,” Gus said. “With the history he has of making visually stunning films, he chose to use many locations that are unique to Bartlesville for a reason. Will that help bring people to Bartlesville?